The situation had become strangely complicated.
The demons who had launched the sudden ambush succeeded in surrounding Kim Su-hyun—but almost immediately, the users who had rushed in turned the tables, encircling the demons instead. And these weren’t just any users; each one was practically an ace.
Just looking at the two facing Astaroth made that clear. Kim Yu-hyun wielded the Brain Thunder, and Han So-young brandished the Spear of Longinus, a symbol of annihilation. Their user stats were top-tier, and on top of that, they possessed divine powers capable of harming gods. No matter how great the demon, this was not a situation to underestimate.
“Metamorphosis!”
Crackling and sizzling sounds filled the air.
Sensing the danger, Asmodeus’s form rapidly shifted. His pitch-black skin cracked open, and his entire body began to swell like a water balloon. What had been a mere meter in size suddenly grew beyond four meters, until one of his arms alone was as large as a grown man—a monstrous transformation.
“Hoo.”
Ha Seung-woo clicked his tongue at the sudden display of presence from Asmodeus. Perhaps because he had just arrived, his breathing was a bit rough. As he hurriedly tried to steady himself, a gentle touch landed on his shoulder, making him blink.
“Hello? Secret Weapon?”
A woman with a languid voice was looking at him. Just as Ha Seung-woo was about to say something, Ko Yeon-ju smiled slyly and leaned in close.
“Looks like it’s about to start. Isn’t it time you showed us what you’ve got?”
“Huh?”
“I’m pretty excited, you know. To see the real strength of the vagrant lord.”
“…!”
Ha Seung-woo’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and lowered his voice.
“You knew?”
“Is there anything I don’t know?”
“Then why—?”
“Why what? If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already.”
That one sentence was enough. Ha Seung-woo gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
“Let’s keep it reasonable. It’s hard to believe you when you talk like you’re radiating murderous intent.”
“Oh my. Isn’t that a bit weak for someone infamous as a replicator?”
“It’s different when the opponent is you. Back in the vagrant days, I avoided clashes with Salmun as much as possible, and I even warned to retreat immediately if the Shadow Queen appeared.”
“Enough talk. Show us your skills already. You owe it to the one who saved you, after all.”
“Yes, yes. Of course.” Ha Seung-woo replied sarcastically, then turned his gaze to Asmodeus, who was searching for prey. Like a medical student on their first dissection, he focused all his attention on his opponent. Not long after, a flash of light sparked in his eyes—and then it was gone.
“Good. Memory complete.”
With that, Ha Seung-woo relaxed his arms at his sides.
A moment later.
His entire body glowed with a soft green light as he quietly spoke.
“Metamorphosis!”
Crackling and sizzling again!
“What… what is that?”
Lilith, who had been watching quietly, suddenly shouted in surprise. Ha Seung-woo’s body was undergoing the exact same transformation as before. His apricot-colored skin swelled, his body grew to giant size in an instant, and then darkened to black—another Asmodeus was born.
Whoooosh!
“What the—!”
Just as the two Asmodeuses were about to clash, a sudden barrage of aqua-blue beams struck Lilith’s entire body.
Squinting and turning around, she saw water spirits in the form of blue mermaids aiming tridents from all directions. “How dare you!” she shouted in anger, but inside, anxiety gnawed at her.
No matter where she looked, the situation was the same. Especially with Beelzebub—he was a perfect mirror image of her, surrounded by fiery bird-shaped fire spirits, locked in fierce battle. Though a single gesture extinguished a dozen of them like candles in the wind, they regenerated almost instantly, driving her to frustration.
Fortunately, the spirit king was nowhere to be seen. Even if he were, it wouldn’t make much difference.
The biggest problem was that she was alone. Just as the fire spirits were assigned to Beelzebub, the purification spirits seemed to have marked Lilith. It was far from ideal. Her powers were limited, and she wasn’t fully recovered yet. She was confident she wouldn’t lose, but it was obvious she’d be held back for quite some time.
“Grrrr!”
Seeing the relentless beams, Lilith cursed and took to the air, spreading her wings wide like an umbrella. Black ribbon-like tendrils burst forth, slamming fiercely into the ground.
And then—
“Tsk.”
Lucifer, calmly surveying the battlefield, clicked his tongue softly. The situation was far worse than he had anticipated.
In an instant, five great demons were caught. Lilith and Beelzebub were each pinned down by spirit armies; Asmodeus was facing some strange clone; Astaroth was locked in combat with two mages; and Baal was engaged with a giant who had just shouted “Help!” and charged in.
Even Melinus and Olivia were struggling to break free from the group led by the woman who had been causing trouble.
In the end, the only ones available were Lucifer and the seven remaining demon lords.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The smoke that had thickly blanketed the ground moments ago suddenly vanished without a trace.
Instead—
Clink, clink!
—Intermittent metallic sounds echoed.
Translucent skeletal knights on dark blue horses were slowly closing the distance.
Most unsettling was the skeletal figure at the front, clad in black armor and wearing a horned helmet. His imposing frame and the aura radiating from him surpassed even the fourteen demon lords. It wasn’t that Lucifer thought he would lose, but this was no easy fight.
Lucifer, confident in his original power, felt frustrated but understood the reality. The demons had been forced into this middle world, and their powers hadn’t fully recovered.
In contrast, Behemoth had been legitimately summoned through a contract, suffering relatively little power loss—and was currently brimming with Vivian’s magic.
After a moment, the clinking sounds abruptly stopped.
‘…No choice,’ Lucifer thought quickly, gathering all seven remaining demon lords. He decided to prioritize dealing with the most dangerous threat—the beast army.
“Such a warm welcome… Are you overestimating us?”
A cool voice sounded nearby, as if someone had just arrived. Without a word, Lucifer prepared for battle.
Then—
Thud thud thud thud! Thud thud thud thud!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently at the center of the battlefield. The sound was rapidly approaching—the place where the fallen angel was.
A puzzled expression crossed Lucifer’s face. The beast army had stopped advancing, so why were hoofbeats audible?
The answer was the Obelo Knights. Though severely damaged by Thanatos, some knights had survived. Seeing Kim Su-hyun in danger, their captain led them charging in.
Seeing this, Lucifer’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Damn it, demon lords! Take care of those bastards!”
Ordering the demon lords to handle the Obelo Knights, the metallic clinking resumed once more.
“Wow, you really underestimate us, don’t you?”
Now, the voice mocked the lone Lucifer.
“You should have stayed quietly hidden. I don’t know why you crawled all the way here.”
Given the circumstances, even the usually polite Lucifer couldn’t help but snap back harshly. It was understandable—this was utter chaos.
He was so frustrated he wanted to grab Kim Su-hyun by the collar and shake him, yelling, “Can’t you take it easy? What did we ever do to deserve all this preparation?”
At that moment, Behemoth chuckled, his hollow eye sockets glowing with red light beneath his helmet. Drawing the sword at his waist, its chilling blade reflected the sunlight.
“Well, this works out nicely. After all, you owe us.”
He was referring to the old incident when demons invaded Hell.
Soon, the silent skeletal knights—or rather, the Royal Knights—drew their swords, awaiting the king’s command. Long ago, they had led the unification wars of the Victoria Kingdom.
Though they appeared as armored skeletons, they were far from ordinary. Even in death, these knights had transformed into beasts, their loyalty unyielding, each possessing power beyond that of death knights.
No wonder they were the elite extermination force of Hell. Once the king’s order came, they would become a fierce storm, sweeping away their enemies.
Lucifer quickly glanced behind him. For some reason, Kim Su-hyun and Thanatos still hadn’t moved.
‘Hold on… We have to hold on as long as possible.’
Though he thought this, a creeping sense of dread refused to leave him.
Perhaps.
Just perhaps.
Even if the plan succeeded, they might lose half of the forces they had brought.
“Heh.”
Thanatos, looking around, let out a dumbfounded sigh.
“The spirits aside, we already saw the Obello Knights earlier. Wait, those are the Victoria Royal Knights, right? No way—how did those two orders end up working together…? Whoa, there’s even the Origin of the World? Wow, this is seriously next level.”
Muttering to himself for a while, he suddenly glanced over at me.
“Hey, hey. Listen, I’m genuinely curious—do you hold some deep grudge against them? You can’t possibly know the future, so did you plan all this out on purpose?”
My chest tightened for a moment, but I forced myself to ignore it. Hwa-jeong had told me to completely disregard anything Thanatos said.
—This is strange, really strange…
Now he just kept repeating how strange it all was, like something didn’t add up.
Thanatos, the god who governs death, is said to be on the same level as Gehenna and Hwa-jeong. Even in this in-between world, someone like me shouldn’t stand a chance. So, having even considered activating my Flame of Purification if things got rough, his words made me uneasy.
“What’s so strange about it?”
—Huh? No, no.
“Hmm? Anyway, what do you think? Should I activate the Flame of Purification?”
—Are you crazy? If you kill him, you’ll die too.
“No, but—”
“Wait a second.” Hwa-jeong cut me off firmly and hesitated for a long moment. But sensing Thanatos was starting to lose interest in the situation, I grew anxious. Then he spoke again.
—Hoo, well… honestly, nothing’s clear yet, but I don’t think you’ll need to use the Flame of Purification after all.
“Huh?”
—In other words, you’re stronger.
“…What did you say?”
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
A while back, a reader asked, “Hwa-jeong was so confident, but even if the devil interfered, could Thanatos’ seal really be broken so easily?” I thought that was a great question. At the time, I said I’d answer it in Episode 2, but to correct myself, I’ll address it within this part instead. It should be wrapped up by Episodes 3 to 5. :)